Stress drives cyber pros to their limits

Almost a quarter of chief information security officers (CISOs) and IT higher-ups are considering leaving their jobs. While many report having solid boundaries to deal with stress, others report trying alcohol or even drugs to unwind.

New research shows that senior-level security professionals are considering leaving their jobs or are open to new opportunities outside of their roles – for various reasons spanning from stress to a lack of work-life balance.

CISOs and IT decision-makers are integral to maintaining and securing an organization’s information security. Therefore, retaining this talent is of the utmost importance if organizations that collect our data are safe and secure.

It’s clear that there is an issue within the cybersecurity industry. As threat actors target more high-profile companies, such as ADT, T-Mobile, AT&T, and others, more of our data is being leaked due to data breaches.

All of these factors, like cyber threats, stress, burnout, and lack of work-life balance, negatively impact CISOs and IT decision-makers, making it difficult for these individuals to feel motivated and capable of protecting systems and data.

BlackFog, a cybersecurity specializing in anti-data exfiltration software, has commissioned a study that reveals some of the reasons why CISOs and senior-level cybersecurity professionals in the UK and the US are thinking of throwing in the towel.

The survey, conducted in July and August of 2024, focused on companies with over 500 employees across the UK and the US.

"Almost half of respondents saying they are worried about threat actors leveraging artificial intelligence to launch their attacks."

Impact of cyberthreats

Cyberattacks inevitably cause stress, particularly if you’re responsible for mitigating the effects. But how much does it affect seasoned cybersecurity professionals?

According to the study, more than two-thirds of people said that malware and ransomware attacks cause them the most stress, with almost half of respondents saying they are worried about threat actors leveraging artificial intelligence to launch their attacks.

A quarter of participants also expressed concern about data exfiltration, a key feature of modern ransomware attacks.

While this inevitably causes stress, this study showed how cybersecurity professionals manage their stress levels while outside of the office.

"More than two-thirds of people said that malware and ransomware attacks cause them the most stress."

How cyber pros deal with stress

The study shows that IT decision-makers and senior executives do have productive ways of managing their stress. For example, 86% of people said they make time for sports and “recognize physical health as important to their overall wellbeing.”

A large majority of participants (82%) have set solid boundaries, which helps protect their work-life balance.

However, some of the respondents reported engaging in unhealthy activities to cope with stress, as almost half of respondents said that they have used alcohol and drugs in the past 12 months to cope with work pressure. At the same time, 69% of people have completely withdrawn from social settings altogether.

One way that cyber pros could help alleviate stress is by having more support from their supervisors. But how much support are they actually getting?

"Almost half of the respondents said that they had used alcohol and drugs in the past 12 months to cope with work pressure."

Support for cyber pros

Although CISOs and IT decision-makers are high up on the cybersecurity food chain, leaders still need support from their bosses.

BlackFog’s findings show that there was a lot of positive feedback about how much help security leaders get from upper management. Almost two-thirds of security leaders have been offered support to manage stress, including flexible hours (65%) and hybrid or remote working (62%).

However, participants feel that there’s still work to be done regarding increasing budgets so they can afford proper security tools. Respondents also felt that they needed more time to focus on the problems that matter most.

While cybersecurity is promoted as one of the most coveted career paths, there is still a lack of talent being retained in this industry. Maybe it’s because of the brutal cybersecurity job market, or maybe it’s the lack of support, stress management, and the increasing number of cyberattacks that make people want to quit.

But what we do know is that we need to keep CISOs and IT decision-makers sweet if we want to defend all industries from cyber-related threats.